For once, this monthly roundup of Internet search terms that bring people to BOOKGASM isn’t all that crazy (though I’m still scratching my noggin over “characters such as gwen and coral on the play away”). I mean, you’ve got your usual Sudoku, some leftover James Frey fallout, an alarming amount of LOST devotees and – literally and figuratively – Uschi Digard is still hanging in there. Picking up steam: fans of Douglas Preston, Lincoln Child, 24 tie-ins and one Tony winner’s impressive rack.
• scary movies
• 24 declassified
• dame agatha abroad
• characters such as gwen and coral on the play away
• skyscraper sudoku
• james frye book lied
• kristin chenoweth naked
• douglas preston the book of the dead
• abraham van helsing
• egging zach johnson
• smoking gun james frye
• the loveliest dead
• myth hunters christopher golden
• richard hawke
• 100 best novels
• short history of myth armstrong
• the reading level of 24 declassified: operation hell gate
• skincyclopedia
• koontz the husband
• read 9 1/2 weeks novel online
• bad twin lost
• bad twin gary troup
• uschi digard
• old mans war
• the bad twin book
• 24 declassified veto power book review
• mimi rogers breasts
• john twelve hawkes
• a million little pieces lie
• evangeline lilly breasts
• grindhouse tarantino
• james frye oprah
• sexy movies
• examples of bad writing
• the book of the dead douglas preston and lincoln child
• 24 declassified ebook
• russ meyer film covers
• emanuelle in america
• ray garton windows
• last templar jesus
• survivor off camera sex
• manhunt: the 12 day chase for lincolns killer
• zombie sightings
• jud ray fbi
• allen kupfer
• john waters living dangerously dvd buy
• lost tie in novels
• time novel list
• survivor j f gonzalez
• mimi rogers sex
• kitty and the midnight hour
• juggin joe
• joe gannascoli
• mystery and max allan collins and q&a
• sexy crime novels
• woken furies review
• best american nonrequired reading
• manhunt swanson movie website
• movie scifi channel jesus mary daughter knights templar
• american gothic tales poe
• dirigibles in stories
Though ibooks’ bankruptcy has likely dashed all hopes for it to appear, John Gregory Betancourt’s HORROR: THE BEST OF 2005 would have contained the following stories, according to VanderWorld:
• Joe Lansdale, “Shadows, Kith and Kin” (OUTSIDERS)
• Jack Cady, “The Souls of Drowning Mountain” (TAVERNS OF THE DEAD)
• Holly Phillips, “The Other Grace” (IN THE PALACE OF REPOSE)
• Nicholas Royle, “Sitting Tennant” (POE’S PROGENY)
• Joe Hill, “The Cape” (20th CENTURY GHOSTS)
• Caitlin Kiernan, “La Peau Verte,” (TO CHARLES FORT, WITH LOVE)
• M. Rickert, “A Little Madness Goes a Long Way” (F&SF)
• Richard Bowes, “There’s a Hole in the City” (SCIFICTION)
• Barbara Roden, “Northwest Passage” (ACQUAINTED WITH THE NIGHT)
• Clive Barker, “Haeckel’s Tale” (DARK DELICACIES)
• Laird Barron, “Proboscis” (F&SF)
• Jeff VanderMeer, “Lost” (TEL)
• Ramsey Campbell, “Unblinking” (LOST ON THE DARKSIDE)
• Nick Mamatas, “Real People Slash” (SON AND FOE)
• Michael Marshall Smith, “Fair Exchange” (WEIRD SHADOWS OVER INNSMOUTH)
• Simon Owens, “This Hand, Waving” (CHIZINE)
• David Niall Wilson, “The Call of Farther Shores” (LOST ON THE DARKSIDE)
Damn. I would’ve loved to have read that. Just as I also was looking forward to two other Betancourt anthologies ibooks was slated to release: THE ULTIMATE UNDEAD and HORRORSCAPE 2: NEW MASTERPIECES OF HORROR.
Of the three trade paperbacks thus far collecting the current SWAMP THING run from Vertigo, SWAMP THING: HEALING THE BREACH is the best yet, even if it’s the toughest to describe.
Compiling issues 15-20, this BREACH baby begins with Swamp Thing still without his “powers,” so to speak, having earlier rejected them and the associated earthly responsibilities. Alec Holland’s mind is still floating out there in the netherworld, anxious to rejoin his old, root-strewn body, so he possesses the ailing mind of an old college professor to try to make a connection with Swampy. See, I told you it was difficult to describe, though it makes enough sense as you read. This arc comprises four of the six issues here, though the other two are related.
One of those is the most surreal SWAMP THING story yet, with a childhood Alec interacting with bizarre cartoon characters that pop out of his TV and show him glimpses of his future. But the final one is the real capper, with Swampy retreating so much that he becomes miniscule, fighting off spiders and ants on his way toward microscopic. It’s drawn by the legendary Richard Corben (recently of BIGFOOT), and his unique style is well-suited for this particular comic’s universe.
If you enjoyed the Lovecraftian direction of the previous volume, LOVE IN VAIN, you’ll be just as pleased with HEALING THE BREACH. Joshua Dysart’s storytelling could use a little tightening up to aid in clarity, but the art is all up to snuff, and you can just tell this title wants desperately to be the new SANDMAN. In terms of way-out weirdness at least, it’s already there. –Rod Lott
Buy it at Amazon.
If I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t get a degree in journalism. Instead, I’d get one in FREAKONOMICS.
One of last year’s bestselling books, “rogue economist” Steven D. Levitt and New York Times Magazine reporter Stephen J. Dubner discuss how economics can be used not to find the answers to boring issues of supply and demand, unemployment and interest rates, but burning questions like “Does naming your child Shaniqua limit her job prospects for the future?”
Refreshingly non-politicized and ultimately fascinating, Levitt and Dubner apply basic Economics 101 rules to explain how you can tell if a teacher fudges standardized test scores and if sumo wrestlers are throwing matches. The stories behind why crack dealers still live at home with their moms and how one man used Superman to help bring down the Ku Klux Klan are as compelling as any fiction. The book grabs you from the get-go, offering the real reason for our nation’s declining crime rate. Neither gun control nor the death penatly, Levitt’s solution is one I won’t spoil for you.
I’m sure pieces of FREAKONOMICS have proven and will prove controversial, but it’s hard to argue when the approach is so common-sense and not influenced by monetary incentives. Besides, who else is using economics to study the business of bagels in the office or alleged racism on the game show THE WEAKEST LINK? No one, making it easy to see why FREAKONOMICS is so darned popular. It’s also so darned fun. –Rod Lott
Buy it at Amazon.
You know how hard it is to write a different intro to these new-release roundups every seven days? Just curious.
• From Laurell K. Hamilton comes MICAH, the 12th novel featuring her Anita Blake, vampire hunter character.
• GOOD OMENS was the first collaboration between Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett. Released in 1990, it’s proved so popular over the years in mass-market paperback form that it’s being reissued in a hardcover edition.
• MASTERPIECES OF MYSTERY AND THE UNKNOWN collects 28 classic Agatha Christie short stories, including “Three Blind Mice,” “Witness for the Prosecution” and all she penned in the supernatural suspense genre. Love the Saul Bass-esque cover.
• 30 DAYS OF NIGHT: RUMORS OF THE UNDEAD is the first of a series of original novels based upon Steve Niles’ acclaimed comics series about a town overrun by vampirism. This marks Niles’ novel debut (here co-writing with Jeff Mariotte), and based upon his terrific short story in the recent DARK DELICACIES anthology, he should be up to the task.
